embracing doomsday: faith, fatalism, and...

Embracing Doomsday: Faith, Fatalism, and Apocalyptic Beliefs in the Nuclear AgeAuthor(s): Daniel WojcikSource: Western Folklore, Vol. 55, No. 4, Explorations in Folklore and Cultural Studies(Autumn, 1996), pp. 297-330Published by: Western States Folklore SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1500138 .

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Embracing Doomsday: Faith, Fatalism, and Apocalyptic Beliefs in the Nuclear Age

DANIEL WOJCIK

Beliefs and narratives about the end of the world have fascinated people throughout history. In nearly every culture, sacred narratives are told about worldly cataclysm, the regeneration of the earth, and the creation of a terrestrial paradise (Talmon 1968:349-351; Thrupp 1970:11-15).' Until

recently, the end of the world has been interpreted as a meaningful and supernatural event, involving the annihilation and renewal of the earth by deities or divine forces. During the last half of the twentieth century, however, widespread beliefs about a meaningless apocalypse have emerged and now compete with traditional religious apocalyptic worldviews. The creation and proliferation of nuclear weapons, in particular, have fundamentally altered contemporary apocalyptic speculation, fueling fears of global annihilation and evoking widespread fatalism about the future of humanity. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 initiated an era of nuclear apocalypticism that has flourished in American religious culture, folklore, and popular culture; the most widespread and persistent belief that emerges from both religious and secular speculation about nuclear weapons is that they will be used to bring about the end of the world (see Wojcik 1997).

Since the mid-1940s, folk beliefs and assorted religious traditions have reflected the view that the invention of nuclear weapons is a fulfillment of divine prophecies. The prospect of nuclear annihilation has been readily incorporated into various apocalyptic belief systems and mythologized as a meaningful event that is an inevitable part of a preordained plan for the redemption of the world. The extent to which visions of nuclear cata-

Western Folklore 55 (Fall, 1996):297-330 297



298 WESTERN FOLKLORE

strophe are found to be compatible with prophecy beliefs about a fiery con-

flagration at the end of time is indicated by a Yankelovich poll taken in 1984, in which 39 percent of a sample population agreed with the state- ment "When the Bible predicts that the earth will be destroyed by fire, it's telling us that a nuclear war is inevitable" (Jones 1985:67). If this sampling of the populace is representative, then as many as eighty-five million Americans may believe that nuclear apocalypse is foreordained (Halsell 1986:10).

Despite the end of the Cold War, beliefs about the inevitability of nuclear apocalypse persist today, stemming from the magnitude and

seeming uncontrollability of nuclear weapons and the likelihood that

they will be developed and used by hostile nations or extremist organizations in the future. Although other disastrous scenarios involving environmental destruction, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, and deadly viruses have become increasingly emphasized in current endtimes thought, prophecy beliefs about nuclear Armageddon continue to thrive in assorted apocalyptic traditions as the year 2000 approaches.

This essay initially discusses apocalyptic beliefs as a folk religious phenomenon and then examines premillennial dispensationalism, the most pervasive form of apocalyptic prophecy belief in the United States today. Focusing on the ways that dispensationalist beliefs have been adapted to reflect the concerns of the nuclear age, I explore how the concept of fatalism-commonly understood as the belief that certain events and experiences are inevitable, unalterable, and determined by external forces beyond human control-is central to the dispensationalist tradition. The term fatalism is not used here in a pejorative sense; fatalistic thought is an enduring and widespread means of understanding the world. The idea of fate embodies the sense of inevitability that is inherent not only to dispensationalism but to other contemporary apocalyptic traditions as well. From the dawn of the atomic age, the belief that nuclear annihilation is foreordained and unavoidable has been a feature of dispensationalism and remains an important part of this prophecy tradition in the post-Cold War era.

APOCALYPTIC TRADITIONS AND FOLK RELIGION

Although most mainstream churches in the United States today de- emphasize prophecy and reject outright the practice of predicting events relating to the end of the world, numerous surveys indicate that apocalyptic speculation flourishes at a popular level, with millions of Americans of all



EMBRACING DOOMSDAY 299

backgrounds currently embracing beliefs which assert that worldly destruction is imminent and part of a divinely preordained plan for collective salvation (see D. Wilson 1977:12; Boyer 1992:15).2 Although such surveys do not reveal the degree to which these beliefs are integral to people's lives, they do suggest that interest in endtimes prophecies is much more pervasive than scholars have recognized. According to a 1994 survey conducted for U.S. News & World Report, 53 percent of those polled believe that some world events in the twentieth century fulfill biblical prophecy, with a significant percentage also believing that the Bible should be taken literally when it speaks of a final Judgment Day (60%), a Battle of Armaged- don (44%), the Antichrist (49%), and the Rapture of the church (44%) (U.S. News & World Report, December 19, 1994, 64).

The ubiquitous nature of apocalyptic beliefs was revealed in 1991, when many Americans interpreted the war in the Persian Gulf as the beginning of an endtimes scenario that would culminate in a nuclear conflagration. A Gallup poll conducted during the Gulf War found that 15 percent of respondents thought the war fulfilled prophecy and that Armageddon was at hand (Bezilla 1996:26). The grassroots character of prophecy beliefs is further indicated by the fact that even though most Christian prophecy interpreters are reluctant to predict a specific date for Christ's return, surveys show that many Christians believe that J6sus will arrive around the year 2000. For example, in a Time/CNN poll conducted by Yankelovich Partners on April 28-29, 1993, 20 percent of the respondents answered yes to the question, "Do you think that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur sometime around the year 2000?"; 31 percent were not sure; and 49 percent answered no. Twenty percent is a significant number, but the 31 percent who believe that Christ might possibly return around the year 2000 perhaps reveals even more about the pervasiveness of millennial speculation.

This popular interest in apocalyptic prophecy may be usefully thought of as an expression of folk religion, defined by Don Yoder as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the people apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion" (1974:14). Historically, apocalyptic beliefs often have originated apart from the official sanction of religious institutions and have been founded in personal experiences rather than prescribed by ecclesiastical doctrines. The revolutionary millenarian movements that occurred in Europe between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, for instance, were forms of apocalypticism that existed outside and in opposition to dominant ecclesiastical structures. In characterizing the popular appeal of these




medieval movements, Norman Cohn notes that "the importance of the apocalyptic tradition should not be underestimated; even though official doctrine no longer had any place for it, it persisted in the obscure under- world of popular religion" (1970:30). The leaders of such movements--self- proclaimed messiahs, visionaries, heretics, and mystical anarchists-gained their authority apart from the institutional church and attracted disciples through personal charisma and promises of an apocalyptic end to current suffering and the establishment of a world free from pain, evil, and sin (Cohn 1970:16-17).3

British and American apocalypticism in the late eighteenth century and the nineteenth century also developed apart from formal religious institutions, according to J. F. C. Harrison, who notes that "omens and auguries, dreams and divinations, magic, witchcraft and demons...the popular literature of chapbooks and almanacs lies close to the world of millenarian manifestations....Folk culture provided the matrix in which millenarian yearnings could be nourished" (1979:39). Apocalyptic traditions of belief frequently have rejected institutional religious dogma and expressed a desire for salvation outside established institutions, which are considered to be corrupt or evil and which therefore must be destroyed before a new social order may be established (B. Wilson 1973:19).

Today, many of the leading proponents of apocalyptic beliefs are not formally trained theologians associated with mainstream religious denominations or national organizations but visionaries or prophecy interpreters who derive their apocalyptic authority from their charisma, predictive abilities, or divinely inspired revelations attained outside the formal sanction of dominant religious institutions.4 Filling the void left by the general aver- sion to detailed apocalyptic speculation within mainstream institutional religion, interpreters of apocalyptic prophecies usually do not lead formal pastorates; their ideas are promoted at a grassroots level rather than through affiliation with a particular denomination or a formally organized religious body (Boyer 1992:305). Contemporary apocalyptic belief in the United States is characterized by this "unofficial" and subcultural quality, existing at an informal level and learned and transmitted outside the chan- nels of official religious instruction.

Current apocalyptic beliefs are expressed through oral traditions and customary lore and are also communicated though photocopied fliers, religious tracts, videos, audiocassettes, paperback books, radio, cable television, and computer newsgroups.5 Print and electronic technologies have enabled individuals and groups to convey apocalyptic ideas to millions of people, spanning religious denominations as well as secular and reli-




gious distinctions. Although apocalyptic ideas are now often transmitted

through the technology of mass communications, most of these ideas reflect commonly held worldviews and local folk beliefs. Certainly, some

promoters of apocalyptic beliefs are savvy and exploitative entrepreneurs, but the majority of people who disseminate such ideas are sincere in their faith and have simply used new technologies to sustain and promote widespread popular traditions. Their publications and audio and video cas- settes are replete with testimonials and expressions of belief that reflect the real experiences and faith of believers.

The popular origin and often ephemeral nature of many of these

printed and electronic documents bear some resemblance to the chapbooks and broadsides of previous times. Like these earlier forms associated with ordinary people and existing outside the intellectual mainstream of

society, they represent what Richard Dorson referred to as "subliterary forms" of expression that stay close to popular traditions, reflect the beliefs of specific social groups, and ignore and scorn literary refine- ments (1977:208). Print and electronic media are especially valuable sources of information about the subliterary expression of apocalyptic beliefs, revealing much about the spiritual culture of popular apocalypticism, illuminating the common themes and recurring ideas in apocalyptic traditions, and providing insights into the concerns and hopes of

people who anticipate the end of the world. The inspiration for most contemporary Christian prophecy evolved from

specific apocalyptic passages in the Bible, particularly the books of Reve- lation, Daniel, Zechariah, and Ezekiel, which are generally considered to be the most complete of the biblical apocalyptic writings. Due to the cryptic imagery, symbolic language, and ambiguous allusions in these ancient biblical passages, understandings of endtime prophecies have varied considerably in different historical periods and inspired multiple and often conflicting interpretations depending on cultural, social, and individual contexts.

The ways that apocalyptic belief systems have been modified and updated to reflect contemporary contexts illustrate the dynamic nature of apocalyptic traditions. Believers and interpreters of apocalyptic prophecy are masterful bricoleurs, skillfully recasting elements and themes within the constraints of their respective traditions and reconfiguring them to for- mulate new, meaningful endtimes scenarios. Although the basic themes and formal elements of Christian apocalyptic traditions have remained fairly stable through time, they have been imbued with the culturally relevant flavor of particular historical epochs. Believers at different his-




torical moments, for example, have described the breaking of the seven seals and the pouring of the seven vials referred to in the Book of Reve- lation in terms of potential catastrophes that threatened humanity at the time. The varying beliefs about the rise to power of the Antichrist illustrate this updating of tradition, with the actual identity of the Antichrist hav-

ing been repeatedly revised to reflect perceived enemies of Christianity (e.g., Nero, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein).

The adaptability of apocalyptic belief systems is epitomized by the

ways that nuclear weapons and visions of nuclear annihilation have been assimilated into these traditions, with ancient prophecies about fiery cat-

aclysms recast in terms of Cold War fears and the real threats that confront

humanity in the nuclear age. Before the invention of nuclear weapons, biblical references to fiery catastrophes at the end of time were interpreted in terms of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, comets, and volcanic

eruptions. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many inter-

preters of prophecy searched the Bible for possible allusions to nuclear

conflagration, and found persuasive evidence that the Scriptures had

predicted the invention of atomic weapons and foretold of their apocalyptic use (Boyer 1992:115).6 References to fiery destruction in the Book of Rev- elation, for example, suggested atomic warfare-the "hail and fire mixed with blood" which burns a third of the land and trees and "all green grass" sounded like nuclear war (Rev. 8:7); an allusion to scorching heat and malignant sores might describe the aftermath of atomic radiation (Rev. 16:2-8). For some believers, Zechariah's (14:12) account of human flesh being consumed as people stand on their feet appeared to resemble the effects of a nuclear firestorm, as do the predictions of a coming day that shall burn like an oven and set people on fire (Malachi 3:19) and flames burning the pastures and all the trees of the field (Joel 1:19). The com- patibility of ancient prophecies about "fire from the heavens" and visions of nuclear cataclysm is illustrated by the often cited passage of a melting earth from 2 Peter ("a good description of a nuclear blast" according to one prophecy interpreter [Van Impe 1987:131]): "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be disintegrated with intense heat; the earth also, and all its works, shall be burned up" (3:10). Convinced that nuclear weapons were the means by which ancient prophecies of "fire and brimstone" raining down from the heavens would be real- ized, prophecy believers from various traditions embraced the development of nuclear weapons as a portent indicating that humanity had accelerated its progression toward an apocalypse that was inevitable (see Figure 1).



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Figure 1. The cover of "The Last News," a premillennialist prophecy tract (circa 1990) styled after the front page of a tabloid, exemplifying the widespread belief that nuclear weapons will be used to fulfill biblical prophecies about a fiery apocalypse prior to Christ's return.

DISPENSATIONALIST PROPHECY BELIEFS

Of the various prophecy traditions that have incorporated beliefs about a divinely ordained nuclear catastrophe, dispensationalism is the most widespread and is espoused by the majority of televangelists and popular prophecy interpreters, many of whom have stated, at one time or another, that nuclear annihilation is foreordained.7 The influence of such beliefs is suggested by a Nielsen survey of television viewers conducted in October 1985, which found that approximately "61 million Ameri- cans (40 percent of all viewers) regularly listen to preachers who tell them nothing can be done to prevent a nuclear war in our lifetime" (Halsell 1986:11). Not all dispensationalists consider a global nuclear war to be a predetermined part of God's plan, but public opinion surveys and interviews indicate that beliefs about inevitable nuclear Armageddon are widely held and generally accepted within the dispensationalist subculture (see Boyer 1992:116-151; Halsell 1986; Mojtabai 1986).

Dispensationalism is a form of Christian fundamentalism, often associated with Pentecostalism, and characterized by its emphasis on biblical literalism, supernaturalism, support for conservative political causes, and its condemnation of communism, secularism, science, and ecumenicism. Like other forms of millenarianism, dispensationalism expresses the




belief in imminent, terrestrial, collective salvation that will be brought about

by superhuman forces through a worldly catastrophe which will destroy evil and establish an ideal age free from suffering (cf. Cohn 1970:15; Talmon 1968:349; Wessinger 1995:2). Similar to other apocalyptic traditions, dis-

pensationalism expresses a pessimistic view of humanity and maintains that the world is fatally flawed and unredeemable by human effort.8

Holding that a divinely ordained cataclysm and the Second Coming of Christ are the only means of rectifying the world's problems, dispensationalists believe that a thousand-year reign of peace on earth will be established after Christ returns. Although dispensationalists may debate the

specific details of the endtimes scenario, they agree that prior to the Second Coming, humanity will become increasingly evil (a state that is generally thought to be occurring during the believers' own lifetimes) and that the Antichrist will rise to power, persecute Christians, and wreak havoc

upon the world during a seven year period of cataclysmic tribulation.

Depending on the interpretation, at some point before, during, or after the tribulation period the Christian faithful will be "raptured," or physically removed from the earth (see Figure 2). At the end of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be destroyed at the Battle of Armageddon by Christ and his

legions and a thousand-year millennial realm will be created (Weber 1987:10-11).

Figure 2. This depiction of the Rapture in sub- urbia warns that nonbelieving family members may be left behind and forever separated from their loved ones. (Courtesy of Salem Kirban.)

Contemporary dispensationalism is derived from a belief system that

developed in England in the 1820s and that quickly became a major




expression of apocalyptic ideas in the United States. Early American dispensationalism was initially promoted byJohn Nelson Darby (1800-1882), a member of the Plymouth Brethren. Influenced by Darby's system and relying on Cyrus I. Scofield's Reference Bible (1909), dispensationalists divide history into seven epochs and maintain that humanity has been predestined to pass through each of these dispensational periods, during which God tests and communicates with humankind in differing ways, with humanity destined to fail each of these tests (Sandeen 1970:62-71).

Dispensationalism gained increasing popularity after the Niagara Bible Conferences that began in 1875 and had become the most widespread form of American millenarianism by the early twentieth century. As a response in part to the Protestant liberalism of the time, dispensationalism ultimately converged with the fundamentalist movement, insisting on the absolute authority of the Bible as a divine document. Regarding the Scriptures as literally true and inerrant, dispensationalists use the Bible not only as a sacred guidebook for individual behavior but as a means of deter- mining God's plan for humanity, with perceived evils and current crises interpreted as portents that reveal the prophetic timetable in the last days.

The most influential interpreter and popularizer of dispensationalist prophecy since the early 1970s is Hal Lindsey, who is often referred to as "the father of the modern prophecy movement" within the dispensationalist subculture. The apocalyptic scenario that he presents in his writings, familiar to most dispensationalists today, illustrates the fatalistic aspects of the dispensationalist tradition. Lindsey's book The Late Great Planet Earth (1973 [1970]) sold 7.5 million copies during the 1970s, making it the largest-selling American nonfiction book of that decade (New York Times Book Review, April 6, 1980, 27). By 1991, the volume had sold more than 28 million copies, making Lindsey the most widely read interpreter of prophecy in history (Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1991, F16; S. Gra- ham 1989:249; Weber 1987:211). Lindsey's subsequent books have been extremely successful as well, with sales in the millions.

Like most dispensationalist expositors, Lindsey asserts that the establishment of aJewish nation in the land of Palestine in 1948 and Israel's tak- ing possession of Old Jerusalem in 1967 are crucial fulfillments of prophecy that indicate that the end of the world is at hand. Once these incidents occurred, the doomsday clock was accelerated: 'This has now set the stage for the other predicted signs to develop in history. It is like the key piece of a jigsaw puzzle being found and then having the many adja- cent pieces rapidly fall into place" (Lindsey 1973:47). According to Lind- sey and many other dispensationalists, recent prophetic events also include




the invention and deployment of nuclear weapons; the prominence of a Russian confederation as the powerful "nation of the North"; the rise of China as the "nation in the East"; the appearance of a new "Roman

Empire" in the form of the European Common Market or the Euro-

pean Community; disasters (earthquakes, famine, strange diseases, unusual weather changes); increased crime, drug abuse, and violence; interest in the occult, "new religions," and the appearance of false prophets, all identified as manifestations of the Babylonian Mystery Religion predicted in the Book of Revelation (see Lindsey 1973, 1981, 1984, 1994, 1995; Hind- son 1996; Hunt 1990; Jeffrey 1994; Kirban 1973; LeHaye 1972; Van Impe 1987).

The following scenario, which Lindsey maintains is foretold in the Bible, embodies many of the basic elements of dispensationalist endtimes belief. Prior to Armageddon, the "Roman Empire" will be revived through an alliance of ten European Common Market nations and this world power eventually will be controlled by a great charismatic leader who will protect Israel, resolve disputes in the Middle East, and bring peace to the world. This global leader, who will have miraculously recovered from a fatal head wound, is the Antichrist, and he will be worshipped as the world's savior in the form of a one-world religion consisting of secular humanism, "faithless Christianity," and "occult practices" such as astrology, witchcraft, and drug-induced mind expansion (Lindsey 1973:103-123). The Antichrist, who will dominate the world through the European Com- mon Market, will be symbolized by some representation of the number "666" (the "Mark of the Beast"), which will be required of all individuals for buying and selling (see Figure 3). To control people economically, the Antichrist will demand that the number be imprinted or tattooed on the hand or forehead (Lindsey 1973:100-102). The Antichrist's rise to power will initiate the seven-year tribulation period of Christian and Jew- ish persecution, disasters, and worldly suffering that "will make the regimes of Hitler, Mao, and Stalin look like Girl Scouts weaving a daisy chain by comparison" (Lindsey 1973:99). During his rule, the Muslim Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem will be destroyed, and the ancient Jewish Temple of Solomon rebuilt on its original site. (Jewish terrorists actually have been convicted of plotting to destroy the Dome of the Rock and allegedly have received financial support from Christian Zionist organizations intent on expediting Christ's return [Halsell 1986:9].)

According to Lindsey, once the Temple is rebuilt, the end of the world is imminent. At this point, a Russian confederacy and its Arab and African allies will invade Israel and take Jerusalem. Lindsey states that the European




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Figure 3. Lindsey and other dispensationalists believe that the Mark of the Beast will be required for all financial transactions during the reign of the Antichrist; some prophecy enthusiasts assert that the Mark will take the form of an invisible tattoo of the number 666 on the back of the right hand which will be scanned by lasers, similar to the way Universal Product Codes are now scanned at check-out counters at supermarkets. (Courtesy of Salem Kirban.)

forces, led by the Antichrist, will then obliterate the Russian army in Israel as well as the Russian confederacy, most likely in a nuclear attack. Soon afterward, an army of 200 million "Red Chinese" will mobilize and

challenge the Antichrist's world domination, attacking his forces at the Mount of Megiddo and the plain ofJezreel (Lindsey 1973:135-157). In the ensuing battle, all the major cities in the world will be destroyed, pre- sumably in a global nuclear war. Just as the carnage escalates to its climax, Christ will return to defeat the evil forces, judge the faithless, and protect the faithful. After Armageddon, an earthly paradise, established out of "atomic materials," will exist for one thousand years. At the end of that time, this millennial paradise will be threatened by a rebellion of unbe- lievers led by Satan, which Christ will suppress, after which a new heaven and new earth will be created and the faithful will become immortal (Lindsey 1973:158-168).

In each of his books, Lindsey details the ways that nuclear war and its aftermath are important parts of the divine script, methodically interpreting Scripture that refers to mass destruction or fiery cataclysm in terms of nuclear annihilation. A passage from Revelation (6:14) about the atmosphere being torn and pushed apart like a scroll rolled together, for example, is regarded as a "perfect picture of an all-out nuclear exchange" which will shake every mountain and island from its present position




(Lindsey 1984:98). The fourth seal judgment in Revelation (6:7-8) about the arrival of a "pale horse" of death is viewed as a prediction indicating that between one-fourth and one-half of humanity will be killed in a

global nuclear war (Lindsey 1984:88); the catastrophic trembling of the earth that is part of the sixth seal judgment (Rev. 6:12) leads Lindsey to believe "that the Apostle John is describing an earthquake set off by many nuclear explosions"; the prophesied darkening of the sun and the moon (Rev. 6:12) resembles the radioactive contamination of "dirty" cobalt bombs and an ensuing "nuclear winter" scenario (Lindsey 1984:96- 98).

Lindsey declares that the ancient biblical prophets could not ade-

quately describe the sophisticated technologies of nuclear destruction con-

veyed in their revelations and thus referred to ICBMs and nuclear firestorms, for example, in terms of "hail and fire mixed with blood" (Lindsey asks, "How could God transmit the thought of a nuclear catastrophe to someone living in the year A.D. 90!" [1984:12; 117]). The invention of nuclear weapons suddenly has made these unfathomable

prophecies comprehensible:

[Zechariah 14:12] predicts that "their flesh will be consumed from their bones, their eyes burned out of their sockets, and their tongues consumed out of their mouths while they stand on their feet." For hundreds of years students of Bible prophecy have wondered what kind of plague could produce such instant ravaging of humans while still on their feet. Until the advent of the atomic bomb such a thing was not humanly possible. But now everything Zechariah predicted could come true instantly in a thermonuclear exchange! (Lindsey 1984:210-211)

Lindsey also provides descriptions of the effects of nuclear cataclysms in terms of the biblical seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowls of wrath, each of which involves a preordained scenario of suffering that will be unleashed on humanity and that will ravage the earth. The devastation and slaughter will be unparalleled: "Imagine, cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago-obliterated! John [in the Book of Revelation] says that the Eastern force alone will wipe out a third of the earth's population (Revelation 9:15-18). He also predicts that entire islands and mountains would be blown off the map. It seems to indicate an all-out attack of ballistic missiles upon the great metropolitan areas of the world" (1973:155).




Figure 4. This popular painting of the Rapture is available as a postcard, framed print, or place mat. (Courtesy of the Bible Believers' Evangelistic Association, Inc.)

Although Lindsey and other dispensationalists believe that nuclear catastrophes are a part of God's plan, they also assert that they will not have to endure the horror of nuclear war because they will be saved in the Rap- ture prior to doomsday. Mainstream theologians generally interpret the biblical passage that serves as the basis for Rapture beliefs as a reference to the Second Coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17); many dispensationalists, however, declare that there will be two Second Comings, and that a secret Rapture will actually occur prior to Christ's final return. This secret Rapture will involve the divine rescue of the faithful who will be physically 'lifted up" to meet Christ in the air prior to worldly cataclysm and exist with Christ in the heavens until the final Second Coming, at which time they will return to earth with glorified bodies (see Figure 4).

Beliefs about the Rapture are quite pervasive, with surveys indicating that between 30 percent and 44 percent of Americans embrace such ideas.9 Rapture beliefs are characterized by the idea of "blessed assurance"- the promise of planetary escape for the faithful prior to a nuclear cataclysm and other catastrophes that will befall the rest of humanity. In her study of attitudes about nuclear war among dispensationalists in Amarillo, Texas, A. G. Mojtabai concludes that "For millions of Christians in the United States today, the Rapture is seen as the final solution for all our human ills" (1986:xi). Jerry Falwell, who has asserted that the faithful will be raptured prior to nuclear Armageddon, describes the Rapture as follows:

You'll be riding along in an automobile. You'll be the driver perhaps. You're a Christian. There'll be several people in the automobile with




you, maybe someone who is not a Christian. When the trumpet sounds you and the other believers in that automobile will be

instantly caught away--you will disappear, leaving behind only your clothes and physical things that cannot inherit eternal life. That unsaved person or persons in the automobile will suddenly be startled to find the car is moving along without a driver, and the car sud-

denly somewhere crashes. (cited in Lukacs 1986:7)

The Rapture is referred to by Lindsey in his characteristically colloquial style as "The Ultimate Trip" and the "Big Snatch," and he describes in detail Jesus' lifting up the believers to be reunited with Him in heaven: "He is coming to meet all true believers in the air. Without benefit of science, space suits, or interplanetary rockets, there will be those who will be

transported into a glorious place more beautiful, more awesome, than we can possibly comprehend" (1973:126). Like other dispensationalist prophecy interpreters, Lindsey also offers descriptions of the startled reactions of the nonraptured when the true believers suddenly disappear, as well as the ensuing disasters and worldwide panic that will occur

immediately after the Rapture (1973:124-125). The promise that the faithful will be delivered in the Rapture from the

terrors of nuclear apocalypse and the horrors of the tribulation period has an obvious psychological appeal, reflecting both escapist and fatalistic notions. As a defense mechanism, beliefs about the Rapture not only may reduce individual fears but also responsibility concerning nuclear war and other imminent threats by transforming anxiety about catastrophes into the passive acceptance of these as foreordained events.10 Promising planetary escape from the suffering and bloodshed to come, Rapture beliefs offer a captivating scenario by which fears of inevitable doom are transformed into expectations of personal salvation.

FATE, PORTENTS, AND APOCALYPTIC BELIEFS

The word apocalypse (from the Greek apokalypsis) means revelation or unveiling. This sense of a revealed, underlying design for history has traditionally characterized apocalyptic ideas and resembles ancient notions of fate as an absolute force in the universe that determines all things." By asserting that history and worldly renewal are predetermined, dispensationalist traditions affirm that the cosmos is ordered, that evil and suffering will be destroyed, that human existence is meaningful, and that a millennial realm of peace and justice ultimately will be created. Faith and




fatalism are thus interwoven into the fabric of dispensationalist thought: a profound fatalism for a world believed to be irredeemably evil is entwined with the faith for a predestined, perfect age of harmony and human fulfillment.

Folklorists and other researchers have long been interested in notions of fate; however, relatively few studies have been conducted on the meaning and appeal of fatalistic beliefs in contemporary societies. For the most part, scholars have assigned negative connotations to fatalistic beliefs, associated them with the doctrines of ancient civilizations and the worldviews of non-Western peoples, or considered them to be "survivals," "animistic," irrational, and prescientific (see Shaffer 1984). Although the term fatalism is infrequently used by researchers to describe contemporary behavior, fatalism not only is central to assorted apocalyptic traditions but is a pervasive mode of interpreting experiences and perceptions worldwide (Cantril 1965:277; Grambo 1988:11).

The word fate comes from the Latin fatum, implying a sentence or doom of the gods, and originally associated with the spoken word of the Roman god Jupiter, which could not be altered (Leach 1972:371). Fatalism usually is distinguished from related concepts such as determinism, fortune, and destiny by the belief that human will or effort is incapable of altering the outcome of certain events (see Hickey 1967:1324). Whether fate is believed to be derived from a personal power (a god) or an impersonal order, the underlying attitude in both instances ultimately is fatalistic if events are considered to be inevitable, determined by external forces, and unalterable by human will or effort. As Helmer Ringgren notes, "Theism and fatalism are intertwined, and there is in the realm of religion a great variety of interpretations of destiny in the sense of that which happens to man, the predetermined lot, the inescapable" (1967b:11).

The bulk of research by folklorists on fatalistic ideas has focused on the documentation of examples of fate as expressed in folktales, ballads, religious legends, and other narratives (see Brednich 1964; Georges 1978; Ringgren 1967a; Ward 1972). Researchers have proposed typologies of the various ways fate has been conceptualized historically, discussing how fate is conferred, the distinctions between a personal and impersonal deter- miner of fate, and the relation people may have with fate (see Brondsted 1967; Grambo 1988; Ringgren 1967b). C. J. Bleeker, for example, identi- fies general categories of beliefs about fate, such as the belief that one's destiny is related to the time, place, and circumstances of one's birth; that the '"wheel of fortune" is capricious and turns arbitrarily, with one person born lucky and another born with ill fortune; that fate is tragic and inescapable




(the view presented in Greek tragedies); that a world order controls all events for good or bad; and that an all-knowing God predetermines people's destinies (1963:114-116).12

Although fatalistic beliefs often concern the role of fate in individual life, apocalyptic thinking conceptualizes fate as a cosmic, controlling power that determines history and the future of the earth and humanity. In world mythology, ideas about omniscient and omnipotent fate traditionally are associated with concepts of history, time, the destruction and renewal of the world, and the end of the human race.'3 Such ideas from Greek antiquity are revealed in Hesiod's Works and Days, which contains an account of the predestined decline of humanity through the five ages of the world, with each subsequent age becoming increasingly violent or foolish and culmi- nating in Hesiod's own age. This final age is populated by the last gener- ation of humanity, which is condemned to an existence of suffering, sorrow, and endless toil in an evil world that Zeus will finally destroy (Lattimore 1977:3143). Hesiod lists the various evils in the world that have been ordained by Zeus and concludes, 'There is no way to avoid what Zeus has intended" (Lattimore 1977:31).

Dispensationalist beliefs about the foreordained destruction of the world and the divine determination of history resemble these ancient ideas about an unalterable and cosmic power that controls history and human destiny. Human beings, it is asserted, cannot really effect any significant change in an unrecuperably evil world and social problems are interpreted as portents of a bankrupt society on the verge of imminent apocalypse. Because human beings are destined to fail each of God's seven dispensa- tions and are incapable of improving the world, dispensationalists emphasize enduring the evils of the current world while vigilantly looking for the signs of the End that offer the promise of the Rapture and a redemptive, new realm.

The content and cause-effect relationships that characterize dispensationalist prophecy beliefs resemble traditional folk beliefs about doomsday portents in which perceived threats, social turmoil, anomalous occurrences, and unusual cosmic and natural phenomena are interpreted as signs that foretell of imminent worldly destruction. Wayland D. Hand's monumental Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina, for example, lists meteor showers, an eclipse of the sun, comets, and strange lights in the sky as doomsday signs (1961-1964:573). Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1955-1958) also contains various references to the End, such as birds dripping blood on doomsday (B259.5); bleeding wood as a doomsday sign (A1091.2); the moon shinning by day (A1053.1) and the




sun shinning at night as doomsday signs (A1052.2); talking stone at doomsday (A1091.3); and unusual migrations of birds at doomsday (A1091.4).

In addition to natural and cosmic inversions and doomsday reversals occurring before the end of the world, reversible dates, such as those that can be read back to front or upside-down (e.g., 1881 or 1961) also have been assigned doomsday significance (Simpson 1978:562-564).14 The date of doomsday has been frequently attributed to round numbers, and thus the end of every century is a time of apocalyptic angst for many. The two-volume Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from the Ohio collection of New- bell Niles Puckett (Hand et al. 1981) includes cows lowing at night, bad thunderstorms, women wearing glass high heels, and the disappearance of the Eastern European folk custom of painting on Easter eggs as signs that foretell the end of the world (1981:1516). The collection of Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah (Hand and Talley 1984) contains belief statements about meteors and comets (11686, 11700), the eclipse of the sun (11710, 11722, 11724), blood on the moon (9999, 10001, 10002), and chickens laying more eggs than normal (9989) as signs of the last days. This collection also includes statements about certain social and political events that foretell doomsday. Fathers will turn against sons, mothers against daughters, and neighbors against neighbors; parents and chil- dren will hate one another; the United States and the USSR will unite to fight against China in the last days (9991, 9994, 9996). Bleached hair (9997), hooped earrings, and the confusion of gender distinctions (9998) are also signs that the end of the world is approaching.

Unlike "active" (or "magical") beliefs, in which human action is prescribed in order to cause an effect, these doomsday portents foretell various events by themselves and do not involve human agency. In 1926, Puckett distinguished between active and predictive beliefs, which he labeled "control signs" and "prophetic signs"; the former allow for a degree of human control and the latter involve "those undomesticated causal relationships in which the human individual has no play...man has no control and submits helplessly to the decrees of nature" (1926:312). Albert Eskerod (1947) also differentiated between passive and active beliefs, characterizing the condition-result relationship typical of passive beliefs such as omens as ominant-ominat, and that of action beliefs as causant-causat. The first type of belief involves the reading of signs or omens (ominant) that predict occurrences or states of being (ominat), and does not involve volition or causality. The second type of belief is characterized by a cause-and-effect relationship between actions and the results of those




actions (causant-causat).15 Omens and passive beliefs (or what Alan Dundes calls "sign superstitions") predict the future, and active beliefs make the future; the former allow one to foretell death, bad luck, or the weather, and the latter enable one to produce results by means of magical practices (Dundes 1961:31).

Similar to the noncausal ominant that foretells events and does not involve human action or volition, dispensationalist predictions express the notion that particular occurrences are predetermined and that humans are

helpless to avert these events. Although contemporary prophecy beliefs are more elaborate than the isolated belief statements about doomsday assem- bled in folklore collections, such predictions are similar in structure and in the assertion that the present reveals the future and that the future cannot be altered by human action. Characterized by a belief in inevitability concerning certain occurrences, doomsday beliefs reveal the fundamen- tal human desire to predict future events and to attribute meaning to that which is regarded as unchangeable or unavoidable.

From the dispensationalist perspective, famine, wars, plagues, environmental destruction, and nuclear annihilation in the last days are inevitable parts of the divine plan, and attempts to prevent such disasters

through social action are hopeless. Human responsibility concerning the

improvement of the world is discouraged and may even be interpreted as a direct denial of God's plan. Human beings, through their own efforts, cannot save the world from apocalypse, but they can save themselves by fol-

lowing the divine will and behaving in ways decreed by God. Individual fate thus may be altered through human action, but the fate of the world and history itself is foreordained and unalterable.16

FATALISM AND NUCLEAR WAR

In contrast to secular perceptions of meaningless nuclear destruction, usually characterized by feelings of helplessness and pessimism, dispensationalists often express a sense of calm faith and even optimism concerning the threat of nuclear war (see Halsell 1986; Mojtabai 1986). By understanding God's timetable, the fear of the bomb and other potential catastrophes is alleviated; as one prophecy expositor proclaims: "Wars and disasters may come and go; atom bombs may pose their threat of universal annihilation...But these things are recognized as part of the great design of the God of Israel" (Donn 1957:68). Dispensationalist traditions explicitly address a sense of helplessness and meaninglessness associated with thoughts about the threat of nuclear war, restoring a sense of control




and moral order. As Robert Jay Lifton has noted, feelings of powerlessness, fatalism,

and resignation are the predominant responses to thoughts about the men- ace of nuclear cataclysm (1987:137-147; Lifton and Falk 1982:14). Fatalistic

thoughts about nuclear war are associated not only with the tremendous destructive power of the bomb but with the perception that nuclear tech-

nology is unmanageable and beyond human control. Such thoughts about uncontrollability often result in a sense of complete helplessness: "Compared to the bomb's infinite, mysterious killing power, we feel our- selves to be nothing-to be vulnerable creatures whose lives and very humanity can be snuffed out instantaneously" (Lifton and Falk 1982:14).

In addition to evoking feelings of powerlessness, the prospect of nuclear annihilation threatens traditional religious visions of the apocalypse as a meaningful and divinely determined event. The possibility of a sense- less and unredemptive nuclear apocalypse brought about by human igno- rance, violence, or accident, that would kill innocent people on a massive scale, is an affront to the religious belief in a morally ordered universe which requires that the destruction of the world be meaningful and that human suffering is deserved (see Barkun 1987:165).

By imbuing the awesome and terrifying power of nuclear weapons with supernatural significance, dispensationalists have transformed the threat of meaningless mass destruction and human extinction into a vision of redemption. As a morally righteous event by which current evils will be violently destroyed, nuclear annihilation is embraced as a necessary prerequisite for the establishment of God's kingdom. Beliefs about the Rap- ture reinforce the idea that nuclear catastrophe is morally justified and part of God's plan, assuring the faithful that they will not be indiscriminately killed along with the sinners in a nuclear cataclysm, but that they will be divinely rescued prior to worldly destruction (see Figure 5).

Recasting enduring apocalyptic beliefs in terms of contemporary issues and events, dispensationalist prophecy serves as a means of confronting, interpreting, and rendering meaningful nuclear catastrophe, worldly disasters, social ills, and many of the dominating concerns of the latter half of the twentieth century. The dispensationalist worldview is appealing pre- cisely because of the insistence that events and history itself are fated-that a coherent plan underlies all things. By placing current crises within a divine scheme, dispensationalist beliefs offer the assurance that everything is in "God's hands" as history builds to its grand culmination. Most impor- tantly, perhaps, the belief in a preordained plan provides dispensationalists with the faith to endure a world that they regard as evil and doomed.




RAPTURE OF RETURN OF THE SAVED CHRIST IN

TRIBULATION JUDGMENTS GLORY

SEALS TRUMPETS BOWLS

ARMAGED0ON

TRIBULATION I

Figure 5. A dispensationalist prophecy chart illustrating that the faithful will be evacuated in the Rapture prior to global nuclear war. (Courtesy of the Bible Believ- ers' Evangelistic Association, Inc.)

THE NUCLEAR BOMB IN POST-COLD WAR PROPHECY

During the Cold War, visions of nuclear conflagration became the pri- mary endtimes motif not only in dispensationalist narratives, but in various other apocalyptic traditions. With the end of the Cold War and the decreased threat of global nuclear war, dispensationalist traditions are currently being transformed, as prophecy interpreters and believers update their belief systems to incorporate current crises and perceived threats. Eco-

logical disasters, deadly viruses, Islamic fundamentalism, global unification, and new technologies increasingly have been identified as signs of imminent doom. In this regard, apocalyptic traditions are both ancient and emergent, continually being reformulated and made relevant in response to changing historical circumstances.

Despite the end of the Cold War, predictions of nuclear annihilation remain a central feature in apocalyptic prophecy traditions even as new cataclysmic endtimes scenarios have emerged. Many dispensationalists still regard nuclear weapons as a fulfillment of prophecy and predict their use in the near future, emphasizing that existing nuclear arsenals have the capability to destroy the world and that nuclear weapons eventually will be used by hostile nations, terrorist groups, or a "mad-man" military dictator in the future. Furthermore, visions of nuclear conflagration remain compatible with biblical prophecies about the destruction of the world by fire. As Hal Lindsey put it in 1994: "In this nuclear age, it makes sense to us that the mass annihilation we read about [in the Bible] might well be the result




of a nuclear exchange. Because the Bible talks about mass destruction by fire and brimstone (melted earth), this scenario seems to make sense" (1994:197).

In contrast to diminishing secular fears about nuclear war, many dispensationalists declare that the end of the Cold War has brought the possibility of nuclear Armageddon even closer. Lindsey, for instance, in discussing the arms buildup in Arabic nations, asserts that "Planet Earth is more unstable today than it has been at any time in human history. We must never put our faith in false prophets preaching about false peace" (1994:62). He remains "thoroughly persuaded" that the world will soon

experience international nuclear war and devotes a chapter in Planet Earth-2000 A.D. to a discussion of this inevitability (1994:255-265). Although acknowledging the end of the Cold War, Lindsey continues to

emphasize the Russian nuclear threat: 'The Soviet Union is gone. The Cold War is over. But the Bible tells us Russia is going to play a critical role in the final moments of history. And the world stage is clearly being set for the drama.... Russia still poses a real danger to the United States, with its modernized nuclear force which took decades to build aimed at our nation like a gun to our head" (1994:188). A change in leadership or a coup, Lindsey states, might put communist hard-liners back in power and quickly reverse recent political transformations.

Other prophecy writers also remind their readers that Russia still has the nuclear capacity to destroy the United States and the entire world. Ed Hindson, Minister of Biblical Studies at Atlanta's nine-thousand-member Rehoboth Baptist Church, cites recent estimates from the Center for Defense Information to confirm the continuing nuclear apocalyptic threat: the hundred megaton H-bombs in the former Soviet Union have the capacity to create all-consuming firestorms 170 miles in diameter; twenty could destroy three-quarters of the U.S. population in less than an hour; and a retaliatory U.S. nuclear force could kill 400 million people in the countries formerly in the Soviet Union and in China within half an hour (1996:86-87).

A number of dispensationalist prophecy interpreters declare that the Russian nuclear arsenal has not diminished but is, in fact, being enlarged. The "devastating truth," according to prophecy interpreter Grant Jef- frey, is that Russia and its allies are developing new weapons to complete "the most overwhelming military build-up in history to place themselves in a position to put a gun to the head of the West" (1994:186). Lindsey agrees, writing that although some nuclear weapons, such as MIRV ICBMs, are being eliminated under the terms of START I and




START II treaties, the Russian nuclear arsenal is also being modernized to have greater accuracy and more destructive power, hence an improved ability to annihilate the United States in a first strike (1994:197-198). Along with assertions about Russia's stockpiling of arms, some dispensationalists predict that Russia will eventually attack the weakened armed forces in the West and that the United States will answer with a nuclear attack, which will

provoke a second Russian attack annihilating most of the American population and that of the Western world (see Jeffrey 1994:186).

Post-Cold War dispensationalist prophecy also focuses on develop- ments in the Middle East and discusses the endtimes role of Islamic nations. Lindsey, for example, devotes several chapters of The Final Battle (1995) to the "Islamic threat," discussing Muslim anti-Semitism and Mus- lim hatred of Christianity. He details how wealthy Islamic nations are

developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and relative to Mus- lim fanaticism and terrorism, asks, "imagine what this kind of zealotry means in the nuclear age-in the age where nuclear weapons can fit into a suitcase" (1995:8).

Former Soviet republics now Islamic nations-Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan-are depicted in recent dispensationalist prophecy as having an instrumental role in the last days, joining forces with other Islamic countries to attack Israel. Lindsey and other prophecy enthusiasts state that Kazakhstan's 1,150 strategic nuclear weapons make it the world's third-largest nuclear power; they also point out that former Soviet nuclear scientists are working in Arabic nations and that Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weaponry, purportedly already having pur- chased three nuclear weapons from Kazakhstan and currently developing the technology to produce its own by the year 2000 (see Jeffrey 1994:194- 196; Lindsey 1995:51-57). In this scenario, Islamic countries worldwide will eventually unite in an alliance that will ultimately engage in a holy war, a jihad against Israel and Western civilization (Lindsey 1995:70). As these statements and beliefs indicate, by the time the Cold War had defrosted completely, some dispensationalists had filled the void left by the decline of communism with the threat of fanatical Muslims foreordained to assault Western civilization with nuclear weaponry.

A number of dispensationalists (Lindsey, Jeffrey, televangelist Jack Van Impe, for example) have merged Cold War beliefs about the Soviet role in the endtimes with recent fears of Islamic militarism to arrive at the prediction that Russia, because of its alliances with Islamic fundamentalist nations, will invade Israel, which will result in a nuclear conflagration; they cite biblical passages in Zechariah that predict that the last war will be ini-




tiated by a dispute over Jerusalem (see Lindsey 1994:256-258). Lindsey interprets a passage in Ezekiel 38, about God putting "hooks into the jaws" of Gog and pulling it into battle, as a prophetic reference to Islamic influences on Moscow (the "hooks") that will draw Russia into an endtimes scenario leading to nuclear war (1994:200-201). Jeffrey claims that radical Arab groups may attackJerusalem in the near future, writing that "Russian KGB security officers have offered to sell tactical nuclear weapons, small enough to fit into a duffel bag, to Arab countries for $20 million each," and he adds that these alleged sales may allow the PLO, Hamas, or some other terrorist group to become nuclear powers (1994:196). This sense of the inevitability of a nuclear cataclysm brought about by Islamic forces is exemplified by Ed Hindson: "it probably won't be long before almost any well-funded dictator in the oil-rich Middle East will have nuclear warheads as his disposal. As the clock ticks onward, it is only a matter of time until the inevitable disaster strikes" (1996:88).

Regardless of the imagined scenario, predictions of inevitable nuclear annihilation have not declined significantly in dispensationalist prophecy as the third millennium draws near, revealing how deeply embedded such beliefs are in the dispensationalist tradition. Even though nuclear destruction appears less imminent, it is still regarded as a divinely ordained event to occur after a period of false peace, while in the meantime beliefs about environmental destruction, deadly viruses, evil conspiracies, and ris- ing Antichrists intensify. Fears and feelings about the bomb have fueled eschatological thought since the dawn of the nuclear age, and in light of the continued existence of large nuclear arsenals, the possibility of nuclear terrorism, and the covert attempts by some nations to develop nuclear weapons, predictions of nuclear Armageddon are unlikely to fade from dispensationalist speculation. As a permanent fixture in the American cultural and religious landscape, the bomb will remain an ominous endtimes sign until the day nuclear war is no longer a possibility.

In an era plagued by the threat of nuclear cataclysm, ecological disaster, AIDS, famine, and other possible forms of extinction, dispensationalist traditions directly address fears of collective death. Steeped in images of catastrophe that reflect an awareness of our own endings and the widespread feeling that the world itself may be dying, dispensationalist beliefs allay fears of human extinction, provide the hope of continuity and renewal, and give expression to the desire for a meaningful narrative underlying history and individual existence.

Some observers have speculated that dispensationalism and other forms of Christian prophecy belief may collapse by the year 2002 if no




redeeming supernatural event has occurred by then (see Chandler 1993:284). This prediction appears to be doomed to fail, considering the endurance of apocalyptic thinking, the adaptability of apocalyptic traditions, and the important religious and psychological needs that such beliefs fulfill. In a world believed by many to be increasingly evil and out of control, with even greater threats appearing on the horizon, apocalyptic beliefs explain current crises and suffering as a purposeful part of God's endtimes script. As long as perceptions of overwhelming societal crises and uncontrollable evil exist, apocalyptic worldviews will be meaningful. The fact that Christian apocalyptic traditions have flourished at a grassroots level for two millennia demonstrates their enduring relevance and explanatory power, and portends their continued appeal well into the third millennium.

Prophecy enthusiasts have reformulated and updated their beliefs throughout history and will continue to transform endtimes traditions creatively in the years ahead. Given the dynamic nature of apocalyptic belief systems and the diversity of eschatological ideas that have emerged at the end of the twentieth century, one need not be a prophet to predict that at this moment a multitude of rough beasts, saviors, and doomsday scenarios are

slouching toward Bethlehem to be born.17

University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon

Notes

1 The pervasiveness of such narratives historically and cross-culturally is revealed by the listings in the various folklore motif and tale-type indices such as Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1955-1958), which includes the major apocalyptic narratives under "World calamities and renewals" (A1000- A1099), with subcategories such as "World catastrophe" (A1000), "Deluge" (A1010), "Escape from deluge" (A1020), "World-fire" (A1030), "Continuous winter destroys the race" (A1040), "Heavens break up at end of the world" (A1050), "Earth disturbances at end of world" (A1060), and "Fettered monster's escape at end of world" (A1070). The narratives and motifs listed in this and other indices contain many of the same underlying patterns and structures as contemporary apocalyptic narratives, illustrating the continuities through time of apocalyptic thought.

2 While the media coverage of the Branch Davidian, Aum Shinri Kyo, Swiss Order of the Solar Temple, and Heaven's Gate groups has reinforced popular stereo-




types of apocalypticism as a "cult" phenomenon, beliefs about the end of the world are not limited to a handful of religious groups existing on the social margins. Apocalyptic thinking is a pervasive means of conceptualizing the world and one's place in it, and belief in prophecy has been an important aspect of the worldviews of numerous religious groups in the United States, beginning with the Puritans and continuing to the present day. Millenarian ideas have been central to the belief systems of various sectarian groups (such as the Shakers and the Millerites) and the Native American Ghost Dance movements in the 1870s and 1890s, and contributed to much 19th century social reform, including the abolitionist and temperance movements. According to several scholars, millenarian beliefs also served as the ideological catalyst for numerous slave revolts, early feminist consciousness, and even the American Revolution itself (Moorhead 1987:17-18; Bloch 1985:xiii).

Today in the United States, belief in apocalyptic prophecy is integral to the worldviews of many evangelical Christians, such as the Southern Baptist Con- vention (with an estimated 15 million members) and various pentecostal and charismatic denominations (roughly 8 million members), including the Assemblies of God Church, the Church of Nazarene, and thousands of inde- pendent evangelical "Bible churches" (Boyer 1992:4). The expectation of worldly destruction and renewal also is an important part of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventists, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mor- mons), and Jehovah's Witnesses. The prevalence of apocalyptic and millenarian beliefs in the United States has even prompted comparisons with American foodways and sporting events: John Wiley Nelson asserts that apocalyptic ideas are "as American as the hot dog" (1982:179) and Leonard Sweet claims that a preoccupation with the millennium "has become, even more than baseball, America's favorite pastime" (1979:531).

Most studies of American millenarian traditions examine such ideas prior to the Civil War, or among selected sectarian groups, or as expressed in premillennial dispensationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Buss 1988:19). The nature and range of such works are suggested by the bibliographical essays and surveys of American millenarianism by Ira V. Brown (1952), David E. Smith (1965), Leonard Sweet (1979), Dietrich G. Buss (1988), and Lois P. Zamora (1982). With the exception of a few recent studies (Boyer 1992; O'Leary 1994; Strozier 1994; Wojcik 1997), surprisingly little research on contemporary American apocalypticism has been conducted, and comparative work on American apocalyptic beliefs in the nuclear era is practically nonexistent.

3Some medieval millenarian groups, such as the Ranters and the Brethren of the Free Spirit, considered the institutional church to be an obstacle to salvation or even the enemy and regarded themselves as divine beings and thus incapable of sin and evil. Acknowledging no authority but their own experiences, these medieval millenarians created their own anarchistic religious commu- nities, free of restraints, believing that they could murder, rob, lie, and engage in "free love" and other hedonistic activities without sin (Cohn 1970:150). This example may be extreme, but it illustrates the degree to which folk apocalyptic




thought developed outside official religious institutions and gave rise to specific millenarian social movements.

4 Apocalyptic movements frequently have centered on individuals believed to be endowed with supernatural abilities-charismatic leaders, culture saviors, visionaries, or prophets-who mediate between humanity and the supernatural, and convey a divine plan for worldly redemption (Lanternari 1963). Such individuals are not granted authority by official religious institutions but take it unto themselves based on what Max Weber identified as "charisma": "a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with...exceptional powers or qualities" (1947:358-359). Unlike priests, who have the role of administering the teach- ings of official religion and whose source of authority is an established religious organization, the authority of charismatic prophets stems from direct religious experiences and special abilities, such as trance, prophecy, healing, divination, performance of miracles, or inspired preaching (Weber 1963:46-59). This extra-ecclesiastical authority results from a prophet's ability to convey messages found to be meaningful by believers and the willingness of believers to act on these pronouncements.

Charismatic individuals often have been the impetus for apocalyptic fervor in the United States; as historian Charles Lippy notes: "While sophisticated apocalyptic thinking may come from the pen of the theologian, as it did that of Jonathan Edwards in the mid-eighteenth century, much apocalyptic thought in America has been advanced by persons who are more appropriately labelled as charismatic figures" (1982:38).

5 Although folklorists still tend to focus their studies on oral traditions, many have recognized the interdependence of oral and other types of communication, as well as the dynamic relationship between mass media communication, popular culture, and folklore, and the ways that printing and audiovisual repro- duction have effaced the clear distinction between oral and non-oral folklore (see Bausinger 1990; D6gh 1994; Dundes and Pagter 1992; Howard 1995; Mech- ling 1996; Santino 1996).

6 Evangelist Billy Graham, who professes to have "presented the gospel face to face to more people than any other man in history" (Graham 1983:back jacket cover), appears to have risen to fame in the 1950s initially because of his apocalyptic interpretations of atomic weaponry. Two days after President Harry Truman announced the first Soviet atomic test on September 23, 1949, Graham, unknown at the time, highlighted the apocalyptic capabilities of atomic weapons and interpreted the rise of communism as a sign of impend- ing doom (Boyer 1985:239). Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Gra- ham's tent revival, which was extended from three weeks to two months. In recent years Graham has advocated social activism rather than premillennial passivity, although he continues to embrace prophecy beliefs about foreordained worldly catastrophe.

7 In addition to dispensationalism, numerous other apocalyptic traditions express beliefs about nuclear Armageddon. Roman Catholic folk beliefs during the nuclear era have included prophecies about nuclear apocalypse,




often associated with secret messages delivered by the Virgin Mary at various Marian apparition sites (see Wojcik 1996 and 1997). The most famous of these is the "third secret of Fatima," conveyed in 1917 and commonly believed to predict the destruction of the world by nuclear conflagration. Hopi prophecies that foretell of a period of chastisement and a fiery worldly cataclysm are believed by some to refer to nuclear catastrophe (see Timms 1994:156). Sim- ilar ideas about nuclear apocalypse are expressed in New Age prophecies as well as beliefs about the predictions of Nostradamus.

8 Not all millenarian beliefs emphasize a catastrophic scenario involving worldly destruction prior to the millennium. Christian postmillennialism, for example, asserts that the millennium will be brought about gradually and noncata- strophically by human beings acting according to a divine plan, and will be achieved by means of religious revivals, social reform, and the triumph of Chris- tian principles. This steady progression toward goodness will ultimately result in the defeat of all evil and the establishment of a golden age. After one thousand years of peace it is believed that Christ will return. In the nineteenth century, some postmillennialists regarded slavery, alcoholism, child labor, and other social ills as impeding the establishment of God's kingdom on earth and they worked to improve society in an effort to attain a state of millennial per- fection. This movement became known as the Social Gospel, and remained a popular means of millenarian social reform through the 1920s (Lippy 1982:52- 54). In various postmillennialist prophecy traditions, America has been viewed as having a prophetic destiny as a chosen nation that would usher in the millennium, transforming the world into a place worthy of Christ's Second Com- ing.

9 For surveys of Rapture beliefs, see Tufts (1986:vi) and U.S. News & World Report (December 19, 1994, 64). Rapture believers occasionally may proclaim their views through bumper stickers with slogans ("The Rapture--What A Way To Go!"; "Warning-driver will abandon car in case of Rapture"; "Beam me up, Jesus!") and by purchasing framed paintings, postcards, watches, and other items depicting the Rapture, which are sold at Christian bookstores and are available through mail order. The Bible Believers' Evangelistic Association in Sherman, Texas, for instance, distributes an assortment of Rapture merchan- dise, including laminated Rapture place mats (see Figure 4). Some people who anticipate the Rapture have arranged for their unraptured relatives or friends to become the legal heirs of their property after they are lifted up to meet Jesus; the Mutual Insurance Company of New York has even agreed to allow individuals to draft riders to their life-insurance policies that guarantee raptured Christians the same status as deceased clients, with the benefits of the policies going to the next named beneficiary (Woodward et al. 1977:51).

10 Rapture beliefs bear a striking resemblance to beliefs associated with the flying saucer faith that arose in the 1950s, which were characterized by the assertion that nuclear cataclysm was imminent and that extraterrestrials would intervene and rescue a chosen few, who would be born aloft in UFOs. In contrast to the destructive technology of atomic weapons and the inescapable specter of nuclear annihilation, UFOs offered the prospect of salvation by otherworldly, savior beings with superior consciousness and benevolent technology who




were overseeing the fate of humanity. Like Rapture beliefs, the early UFO faith reflected the view that nuclear annihilation was inevitable and uncontrollable by human beings; humanity's only hope of salvation would come from superhuman beings descending from the heavens and offering the promise of planetary escape prior to worldly destruction (see Flaherty 1990; Wojcik 1997).

11 As Martin Buber notes, in apocalyptic thought "everything is predetermined, all human decisions are only sham struggles" (1957:201).

12 The persistence of fatalistic ideas today in the United States is indicated by beliefs in portents and omens, which are assertions that the future is predetermined and foretold by premonitions. Widespread belief in astrology and various forms of fortune-telling also indicate that fatalistic thinking is a common means of interpreting the world. Even family courtship narratives often are characterized by the belief that initial romantic encounters and subsequent marriage are not coincidental occurrences but fated events (Zeitlin 1980:24-27). Numerous common expressions, such as "It was fated that our paths would cross," "It was meant to be," "It's in the cards," "What will be will be-no matter what you do," "You won't die until your time comes," and "When it's your time, it's your time," suggest the ubiquitous nature of fatalistic statements in daily speech. After the devastating Los Angeles earthquake of January 17, 1994, the immediate reactions of some residents were expressed fatalistically: "I thought my time had come-my number was up."

13 Norse beliefs about the three Norns, for instance, exemplify the belief in the omnipotence of fate and its relation to time and history. The Norns were believed not only to spin the thread of human life and death but to rule the fate of the gods and the universe as well, introducing time into the cosmos and therefore controlling the sequence of all events that must inevitably occur. From the beginning of time, the Norns decreed the annihilation of the world by destructive forces (Ragnar6k) and the tragic doom of the gods.

14 Beliefs about doomsday reversals, such as animals chasing humans and riding in carriages on doomsday, are suggested by English local burial legends from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These legends, about men being arranged to be buried upsidedown, supposedly resulted from the popular belief that the world would turn upsidedown on doomsday (Simpson 1978:559- 564).

15 Esker6d (1947) suggests that noncausal omens (e.g., "A red sunrise means bad weather" or "When ants leave their holes-good weather ahead") imply a belief in an a-causal relationship between the sign (whether animals, plants, human behavior, or forces of nature) and the result; causal superstitions (e.g., "If you break a mirror you will have seven years of bad luck") are characterized as involving "intentional or unintentional" cause-effect relationships.

16 Fatalism is commonly characterized as involving a sense of resignation, helplessness, and passivity, and thus motivating no attempt to alter events believed to be inevitable. However, individuals may actively "embrace their fate" and act to fulfill God's will or fate's plan. Although apocalypticists anticipate the




total destruction of a hopelessly evil world, some may attempt to fulfill their prophecies and hasten its foreordained destruction, by instigating societal catastrophes through violent or revolutionary means in order to usher in a new world (see Friedrich 1986:11; Schwartz 1990:8-10). A self-fulfilling apocalyptic scenario appears to have been the goal of members of the Aum Shinri Kyo sect, alleged to have perpetuated the subway nerve gas attack in Tokyo in March 1995. The group's scientists supposedly were researching and experimenting with chemical, laser, biological, and conventional weapons so as to fulfill their leader's prophecies of worldly cataclysms (Register Guard [Eugene, Ore- gon], March 26, 1995, 4A; Register Guard, April 7, 1995, 20A).

17As this essay goes to press, the recent suicides of thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate group on March 23-25, 1997, in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego, California, has brought the fatalistic underpinnings of apocalyptic belief to the forefront of public awareness. Although the media has por- trayed Heaven's Gate as a bizarre UFO doomsday "computer cult" of brain- washed, sci-fi millenarians, aspects of the group's belief system resemble themes present in dispensationalism and other apocalyptic traditions embraced by millions of Americans. Like other apocalyptic groups, Heaven's Gate was pre- occupied with demonic influences and conspiracies, and maintained that by rejecting this world the faithful could escape from a corrupt and doomed planet. Similar to dispensationalist Rapture scenarios, members of the group believed that they would soon be transported to the Kingdom of Heaven by otherworldly beings. Followers interpreted the passing of Comet Hale-Bopp in late March, 1997, as a final prophetic sign, asserting that it was being trailed by a gigantic spacecraft which offered a sudden opportunity for evacuating an evil world. Unlike dispensationalists for whom planetary escape is dependent upon the arrival of Jesus in the Rapture, members of Heaven's Gate believed that through suicide they could transport or rapture themselves onto the spacecraft and into the "Evolutionary Kingdom Level Above Human." Heaven's Gate may have been more authoritarian than typical apocalyptic groups, and its members more fervent in their beliefs and more extreme in their final actions, yet some similarities with dispensationalism are apparent: the emphasis on imminent and inevitable worldly catastrophe, the concern with satanic conspiracies, the yearning for worldly transformation by superhuman forces, the desire for planetary escape, and the sense of fatalism for a world regarded as irredeemably evil.




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